Forever Red Abandoned Ending
by Gyotso
Summary: Based on the idea that there's a reason the end of Forever Red seemed a little off. What if it was originally a one hour, more character driven episode that was a clear nod to it's older fans...what if it was deemed "TOO mature" by it's producers and a new ending was quickly filmed while the actors were still on hand. Cred goes to EstelKenobi on youtube!
1. Before Its Too Late

**What if Forever Red was originally a one hour show but was deemed to mature fr viewers and was rewritten to fit the viewers best interests? What if the greatest ranger in history were to fall just to save the others?  
The world of fanfiction revolves around these what-ifs and what it could be's... thats why I'm here to write this story.  
In honor of the idea that Forever Red was too cheesy and needs a different more mature ending for the viewers it was originally intended for I give you EstelKenobi's ****_Forever Red Abadonded Ending_**** to the world of fanfiction. (I know this story has been attempted before, but frankly the person who did it completely changed the way EstelKenobi made the video. In my opinion if you want to adapt one person's story from one version to another, then it must be done so scrutinously. You don't go changing the pairings just because you like them better and you don't go altering their plans. If you do something like that change the name change the plot cause that's real plagiarism. Because you tried to change it just a wee bit. Its selfish and not right) I simply added some meat to the bones so that the fanfiction wasn't just the trailer, could I have gotten into contact with EstelKenobi I would have used him to proofread and alter the story to his liking but I will keep the trailer true to the story. That's a promise.**

_For the record: a ... means a POV change... like a commercial I guess._

_**With that said and done I bring you The Abandoned Ending**_

* * *

The stoplight was still red, it would change soon... and then the race would begin.

Jason Lee Scott was on his motorcycle ready for the light to change so he could win some money... He had been struggling with bills lately, ever since Kim had revealed her pregnancy, he did his best at the dojo but it was clear martial arts was becoming out of fashion and soon would not be suitable to afford rent in their small house.

So, during the day he used his motorcycle as a racer bike and went up against anyone with deep pockets... he wasn't the best rider in the world, but he was good enough to make sure he kept the rent up and continue payments on the ring he'd been dying to buy Kimberly.

At night he drove her 2001 Evolution (bought for her by her parents) to Los Angeles and participated in the street races. He was better as a driver than a rider, but he had a hard time earning street cred with a pink Evo, so he ended up having to race for slips against some poor kid who got in the ring and thought he could box.

Needless to say, he didn't let Kim find out about the racing, it would be too much stress on her and he didn't want it to mess up her respect for him. So he hid the Red Evo in an abandoned parking lot under a tarp while he wasn't racing, and parked the pink Evo in a nearby parking garage, paying whatever it cost.

He wasn't gonna race tonight because he promised Kim that he'd be home early and that they'd spend the entire evening together, which was fine by him... if he won this race he would be able to pay this month's rent, next months, and enough of the ring to actually take it home in his pocket and really propose to his Pteradactyll.

The light went green and he hit it hard.

It wasn't a particularly nasty race, it was just around the town square, up a couple blocks, then back down the main street for the finale... but the guy he was racing had 25% more horsepower and twice the skill Jason had. But Jason was known for putting himself on top against insurmountable odds... probably thanks to his time as a ranger.

They went around the turnabout and went back up to the main road, the guy, Victor, was about a second ahead of Jason and would stay that way unless the latter thought of a plan. Jason noticed there was a vehicle for holding multiple cars ahead that he could run his bike up and jump over Victor... but he'd probably wreck himself and Kim would demand an explanation. That left 2 options: Cheat or lose. The former was an immediate disreguardance, he didn't get to be the leader of the Power Rangers by playing unfairly.

So he didn't let off on the throttle, and gave Victor a wide enough berth so that he wouldn't accidentally bump him into certain injury.

But a truck seemed to come out of nowhere from behind and run into Victor, who in turn flipped backward over the truck and landed half in its bed and half dangling off... barely conscious.

Jason immediately veered towards the truck and tried to get a handle on Victor, but he wasn't doing much to help. Jason got up as close as he could and grabbed him by the shirt... pulling him with as much strength as he could.

The truck veered into the oncoming lanes and Victor slipped further down towards the cement.

Jason swerved to get behind the truck, grabbing hold of Victor at the last second, who was in enough of a good position to swing one leg over Jason's bike and plop himself down onto it.

The truck was plowed into by a semi a second after Jason pulled to the left to try and get off the road.

But there were too many cars in the far left lane so he couldn't go far so he had to try and go back right, he pulled hard and swerved to avoid several cars. He finally pulled into the correct lane and pulled off the road to drive back to the finish line.

Victor was wide awake at this point... nearly dying will do that to you.

"You saved my life." Victor said, gripping Jason's shoulders.

"Its no big deal." Jason said, pulling his helmet off. Most people don't wear helmets... but his was a gift from Kim... so he did.

"Seriously you gotta get into some of those deeper races... you can make some serious money." Victor said, pulling out his wallet and handing Jason what should have been the winnings for the race.

"No man, you had me... if that truck hadn't hit you from behind I'd be paying you." Jason explained.

"You saved my life... in my book that's worth a lot more than a few grand." Victor forced the cash into Jason's hand and gave him a card.

**Victor Santos**

**Motorcycle Organizer**

**"He that never rides, never truly lives"**

Then it had the basic information like his address and phone number on the back of it, Jason thanked him for the card but tried to give him the money back.

"You're gonna need it for your bike." Jason said, giving him a sly smile.

"If meeting someone who has the balls to risk their life for an opponent in a race for 5000$ costs 5000$ and a motorcyle... you have me sold everytime... Call me." He said pointing at the card.

"At least let me give you a ride home." Jason suggested.

"Man, when are you done being a hero? Go home... there's gotta be someone missing you." Victor said, pulling out his phone to dial a taxi service.

"If you need me, you got my number." Jason said, pulling away from Victor, putting his helmet on and driving to his home.

...

5 robotic figures walked over mechanically to an area where a legion of minor-robots were digging around something.

"We finally found it. Cogs, keep digging. Zedd was a fool to leave this buried here. His loss, our gain."

From high above the Cogs work sight stood a hooded figure, who was watching the group dig up a familiar piece of machinery... one that nearly destroyed the Earth and the Power Rangers.

The figure removed his hood to get a better naked eye view and realized the Cogs had indeed discovered the great secret.

"It's worse than I thought... they've almost finished digging it out." Andros, Red Space Ranger, muttered under his breath.

He got up hurriedly, unintentionally knocking several rocks down the cliff... alerting the Cogs and their surperiors to his presence.

"Huh, what's that?" The green borg asked, turnign around to identify the cause of the disruption. "Stop!" The cloaked figure turned around. "Steelon let's go." The green and light blue robot turned and ran for their horses. "Intruder stop!"

Andros picked up the pace, raising his left wrist to his mouth. "Galaxy Glider Hang 10." He took off into the air with a jump and a flip, telepathically morphing into the Red Space Ranger, landing on his Galaxy Glider in a moment of perfect timing.

As Andros took off into outer space the 2 generals slowed their steeds to a stop, the blue general spoke dispassionately, "Let him run, it's too late now."

...

"Yep, I've seen it all. Why I even met Lord Zedd and Rita." Bulk said, washing a glass while talking to his lifelong friend, Skull.

"Yeah?" Skull pretended to look shocked. "So have I!" Skull said, knocking a piece of his game off the board.

The phone began to ring on a nearby counter and the 2 raced for it.

Skull reached it first, but was consequently pushed out of the way by Bulk, the former landing in the pool.

Bulk chuckled to himself and answered the phone, "BulkMeyers, Bulk speaking..." after a moment of silence Bulk adds, "Just a minute."

Skull gets out of the pool and follows Bulk to the chair of a man with spiky blac hair who was reading a newspaper.

"You really think you ought to bug him?" Skull asked.

"It sounds important." Bulk insisted nervously... "Excuse me, sir..." the man's attention did not waiver from the paper. "You have a.. phone call."

The man raised his hand for the phone and Bulk placed it in it.

The voice, counterintuitively spoke softly, "Hello?"

After mere words exchanged, the man hung up.

He put the phone down, taking off his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes. He had to leave now... before it was too late.

He walked out, leaving his glasses and the newspaper behind. He stopped by the bar on his way out, "Watch over the place." He said to Bulk and Skull before walking out.

Those 2 were once the school bullies around Angel Grove High, but not so long ago they came to Tommy and begged him for a job at the country club he managed... They begged so much... even after Tommy got them the job. For the first time in their lives they worked diligently and truly held respect for one Thomas Oliver.

Tommy chuckled at the memories... then he remembered where he had to go.

He had to find Jason.

He got into his jeep and drove not very far at all. He pulled into a driveway about a mile and a half from the country club and turned his ignition off.

He took a deep breath. He hadn't spoken with Jason since the beginning of the Turbo era of Power Rangers... he had left Angel Grove after his girlfriend broke up with him for unknown reasons. Jason had gone to Florida and brought Kimberly back not long after... then he moved with Kim to Florida and had moved back to Angel Grove almost a year ago.

Tommy had no idea if Kim and him still talked, his friend Katherine hadn't mentioned her when she told him that Jason was back and he didn't have the heart to ask... She had probably stayed in Florida to finish her training for the Pan Global Games that she had left Tommy for years ago.

The only reason Jason and Tommy didn't talk anymore wasn't Kim, it was both of them. They had busy schedules... well not so busy they couldn't meet up and have a bite once in a while... but busy enough to the point where they'd have to change their plans to do so.

Tommy noticed a pink Evolution coming down the street, probably because it was an incredibly slick ride... it was half a block away and looked like it cost a million dollars. Tommy pulled out of his jeep and walked up to the door, he knocked on it... quietly at first. Then louder because he knew Jason wouldn't have heard it.

Just as Tommy was about to turn around a familiar woman pulled up in the same Pink Evo he had seen down the road... she carried with her 2 grocery bags, held at her waist.

"Tommy?" Kim asked, walking up the walkway.

"Kimberly..." Tommy said.

"What brings you here?" Kim asked nervously.

"I need to talk to Jason... why are you here?"

"I live here..." Kim muttered under her breath.

Tommy mentally smacked himself in the head..._ 'Did it take that much brain power to figure that out Oliver?'_

"Here let me help you." Tommy said, grabbing one of the bags from Kim.

"Thanks..." Kim said, flipping her keys around until she caught the black one.

She put it in the door and opened it up, walking into the small house and setting the groceries down on a nearby table.

"Just set them there." Kim gestured to the table. Tommy did so, taking the keys out of the door and closing the screen door but leaving the wooden one open. "So what do you need to talk to Jase about?" Kim asked, having dissapeared into the small kitchen.

"Just something little." Tommy said, admiring the miniature fire place and mantle that held pictures of Kim and Jason holding each other in various hug positions... plus a few of the original power team... minus the costumes.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kim called.

"No thanks I don't drink and drive." Tommy said, looking at the one where Jason was holding a dog and smiling at the camera.

"That's good but we don't have alcohol anyway... Jason doesn't like it and I can't drink it."

It took a second for him to register what she had said, "Want a Coca Cola?"

"Please." Tommy said, looking out the window at a man who was walking up the walkway, inspecting the 1999 jeep in the driveway.

He opened the door cautiously, surprised to see one Tommy Oliver in his living room.

"Tommy." Jason said. "Its been a long time."

"Too long brother."

"Its true." Jason said, shaking his friends hand.

After a few minutes of the houw-you-beens, and you-haven't-changed-a-bits, and -you-finally-cut-that-hairs, the 3 former rangers sat down in the living room and began talking about various things.

Jason sat on his leather recliner he had inherited from his uncle last year, Tommy sat on the couch while Kim sat on the arm of the recliner.

"So what brings you here Tommy? You don't call, you don't write.." Jason joked.

"A phone call goes both ways Jason." Tommy reminded him.

"Guys gotta work." Jason said, shrugging.

"Anyway... there's a problem... we need the team back."

Jason raised his eyebrows.

"Our powers were destroyed man... we can't do anything." Jason said finally.

"You really think I believe that Zordon let you, of all people, walk away without the power?" Tommy asked.

It was true... Jason had been hiding it from Kim for years... but he had a fully functional morpher in the glove of his Evo... the only place Kim can't look.

"Well its the truth." Jason lied.

"Look this is big... we need to assemble a team... and frankly I don't know how we can contact Billy on Mirinoi... or even Zack... he's been who-knows-where since..." Tommy didn't finish the sentence. "You're the only one who's still really connected with anyone from the old team... I need your help." Tommy admitted, feeling defeated.

"Jason... we promised that we were done with this." Kim reminded him. "You said you would leave that life behind when... stuff happened."

Jason thought long and hard... he had to help Tommy, it was the right thing to do... but if he got killed that would leave his son/daughter fatherless.

Then he thought about Rocky... the only red ranger besides Tommy that Jason knew... that was the key.

He had seen reports on the news about other teams... other rangers.

"Why does it have to be the Mighty Morphing Rangers? Jason asked. "Why not assemble a team of rangers from all the teams? Like choose the 2 best rangers and call them in."

"20 rangers.." Tommy mused.. "That would be helpful... but I doubt we would have the room for that many..."

"What about all the reds?" Jason suggested. "Call them in. Call Rocky and the others and get together a team of reds... there's got to be more of us." Jason said.

"Yeah... I like that." Tommy said, pulling out his phone. "Yeah Andros? Change of plans... assemble every red ranger on Earth... yes all of them. This is a Forever Red mission." He closed his phone.

"We'll leave when you're ready." Tommy said.

"Tommy... I can't. I'm sorry." Jason said.

"Kim... you gotta let him come... he's the first red we ever had."

"Tommy.. I can't have my child be without a father... I'm sorry." Kim said, solemnly.

"Child..." Then it hit him... why Kim couldn't drink and why Jason was so nervous about leaving. Kim was pregnant.

Kim got up hurriedly, covering her mouth. "Excuse me." She ran to the bathroom.

"I got to go." Tommy said, getting up.

"Look I was gonna tell you man."

"I don't care about that." Tommy said, and his eyes showed that he meant it. "I just wish you could come... I don't want to do this without the original red ranger."

Jason walked him to his jeep.

"Look, just be smart man. I know you can do this." Jason shook his hand again, giving him a brotherly hug in the process... then letting him leave.

...

Kim looked into the mirror... she was incredibly torn. She wanted her baby to have a father.. but what right did she have to tell Jason that he couldn't save the world? She thought about all the superhero stories about how the superheroes girlfriends couldn't understand how difficult it was to be with a superhero... but she did... it meant choosing between the girl and the world, and 9 out of 10 heroes don't choose the latter.

"Kimmy? Are you okay?" Jason asked softly, from behind the door.

"Fine." She said.

"I'll be in the garage if you need me." Jason said, walking out the backdoor.

A tear fell down Kim's cheek... she had to do what was best for her family.

About an hour later Kim had whipped up a few desserts and a few sandwhiches and brought them out to Jason so he could work and eat at the same time.

"I would have come in." Jason said, taking a sandwhich after wiping his hands.

"I like watching you work." Kim said, hopping up onto the work table.

Jason hadn't been working too hard, he was just replacing one bum muffler for another... but he needed time inside his head... so he didn't go back inside.

"You remember that time Tommy almost killed us?" Jason asked.

"Which one?" Kim joked.

They laughed for a moment and grabbed another sandwhich.

"Remember when you and the others got caught in Zedd's alter-dimension and I had to come in and save you?" Jason asked.

"Yeah... we were terrified that you wouldn't be able to get to us."

Jason thought back to the time while his friends were stuck... something Zordon had said about being a leader...

"Remember when you finally destroyed the Evil Power Sword?" Kim asked. "You broke the spell."

"We broke the spell." Jason corrected.

"Bull. We fought in the zords while you destroyed the spell... then admirably let Tommy join the team... even though you knew he and I liked each other."

"Did I do that?" Jason asked, inching closer to her.

"Yes you did." Kim said, inching her face a little closer.

"I don't know why I would ever do that." Jason joked.

"Because you're you... and you never think about how things affect you... just others." Kim said.

"Since when?" Jason asked, walking inbetween Kim's separated legs and getting as close as he could to the Pink MM Power ranger.

"Always." Kim said, letting him kiss her.

The feeling of her lips on his brought it back...

_"Red ranger, come stand before me. Jason, a true leader is always faced with tough decisions...He must control his emotions... and act based on who has the greatest need." Zordon had said._

_"Jason you made the right decision when you left Tommy's candle." Alpha had insisted upon him._

_"The other rangers needed you then...as they need you now. You must face another tough decision... if you enter Lord Zedd's dimension your powers could also be lost" Zordon had warned him._

_"Its a risk I'm willing to take to save my friends Zordon." Jason had said._

_"You have made a fine leader, red ranger. Only by defeating the Pipe-Brain monster will you gain access to the Alter-Dimension and your fellow rangers... Good luck Jason, and may the power protect you."_

_"Its morphing time!" He had yelled._

It had been a whole other lifetime ago... so much had changed.

But he knew in his heart that the past couldn't be ignored... he had to go... He had to act based on who had the greatest need... and right now Tommy and the other red rangers needed him.. bad.

"Jason Lee Scott... what are you thinking?" Kim demanded when his mouth lost interest in hers.

"That day... the one that I had to beat the Pipe-Brain monster to get to you guys..." Jason said.

"What about it?" Kim asked.

"Zordon told me that a true leader is always faced with tough decisions... and that he has to act on who has the greatest need."

"Why'd he tell you that?" Kim asked, but she all ready knew the answer.

"That was the day I was feeling guilty because I didn't get the candle... he and Alpha were trying to reassure me that I had made the right decision." Jason explained.

They waited in silence.

"I love you Kim... and I wish that I didn't have to break that promise I made to you... but if Tommy goes out there right now he's gonna get himself killed. And we both know if there's something within my power to stop that... then I have to do it." Jason said firmly.

"I know..." Kim said, burying her face in his chest. "I love you too... I just wish you didn't have to go." Kim said.

Jason gave her a good long kiss and hopped onto his bike... he rode as fast as he could to the empty lot he hid his morpher in... he was losing daylight.

He opened up the glove and pulled it out... he hadn't held it in a long time. He reached down farther and found a red velvet box.. inside was a gold ring... he left the ring in the box and put it inside a little tear in the seat of the passenger side.

He wrote down the information of the car and put it into his pocket... he would give it to Tommy... just in case he didn't make it.. so that Kim could have her ring no matter what happened.

* * *

**The story will be told in parts since there's too much to say in 4000 words. Just go with whatever things I made up (like the street races yaddda yadda yadda) everything works none of its that crazy (and yes I borrowed a couple lines from F&F problems? Deal with it :3 hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Assembling Red

A yellow rover slowly crept forward to a picinic table where a group of teenagers were hanging around.

The teenagers seemed to take no interest in the yellow rover, instead continued speaking to one another about an inaudible subject.

A slightly older man came out of the rover and walked over to the group of teens, in particular the one wearing the red jacket.

"Excuse me." The man said, catching the teens attention. "Cole Evans?" The man asked for confirmation.

The teens came closer to the older guy, the red one looking genuinely confused as to how he knew his name.

"Cole Evans-?" He asked again, thinking for a moment and adding, "Red Wild Force ranger?"

The teens looked at each other.

"How do you know who I am?" Cole asked.

"I'm Carter Grayson, Lightspeed Rescue." He raised his left wrist to show him his morpher, "Red ranger." After letting the teens admire the wristlet he explained further, "I was sent to recruit you for an important mission.. The fate of the entire Earth is at stake here." Cole could hear him speaking from his heart, but Carter wore a neat facade of apathy... "We need your help."

Cole instantly agreed, assuring his friends that he'd be all right, joining Carter in the Rescue Rover for the top secret mission.

...

Wes and Eric had just gotten off a minor skirmish, no aliens, Orgs, or mutants, just a small robbery... but at the first sign of Time Force Red and Quantum the thieves returned the stolen items and were arrested.

They got back in their Silver Guardian standard issue police vehicle and prepared to leave when a voice came on in their ear pieces.

"Wesley Collins, Eric Meyers." The voice said coolly.

"Who is this? This is a closed channel." Eric said into the PA system.

"My name is Thomas Oliver, I'm the Red Zeo Power Ranger... I need your guys' help. The fate of the planet is at stake here. We need the Time Force Red and Quantum ranger at the Nasada Space Port by tomorrow morning.. its a matter of life and death." Thomas' voice cut off.

"Looks like we need to change our plans of going to the movies tonight." Wes joked.

"You kidding?" Eric asked.

"Yeah you better call Taylor." Wes said straightfaced.

Eric put the keys into the ignition and started it up.

"Why would I do that?"

"To tell her you're going not going to be there in the morning when she wakes up." Wes joked, earning him a punch in the shoulder by the Quantum ranger.

"At least my girlfriend's not 1000 years in the future." Eric caught what he said too late... it was 1 date!

"You said girlfriend!" Wes said, "We all heard it... you said it!"

"I need to start working alone again." Eric said, driving away.

...

"TJ?" Andros asked into the phone.

TJ had just been interrupted from a very romantic dinner he had set up for him and Cassie. "What's up Andros, now's not the best time." Tj said, hushed into the phone.

"TJ... there's a threat to the Earth... Tommy needs your help... we all do."

TJ sensed the solemnity in his voice.

"I'll tell Cassie to ready up the others."

"No, no others... this is a Forever Red mission."

"All right, I got you." TJ said, "When and where?"

"Nasada Space Port, tomorrow at 12:30 pm, no later." Andros said.

"I got it." TJ said hanging up the phone.

"Cass..." TJ began. "Looks like roller blading tomorrow's gonna have to be rescheduled."

...

The Rescue Rover went into the compound with no problem... it pulled to a stop in front of a Silver Guardian vehicle and a red car nearby.

Cole didn't recognize the man in the red car, but his face was covered because he seemed to be looking for something in his glove compartment.

"Wes!" Cole said, grinning as he got out of the Rover. "Eric!" He shook their hands.

"Cole, its good to see you again." Wes said.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we got a call that said meet here at the Nasada Space Port."

""I see you've met the Silver Guardians." Carter said, walking up the trio.

The man in the car got out slowly and walked up.

"That's the Red Turbo Ranger, Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson." Carter said, trying not to mess the name up.

"Please, call me TJ." TJ said as he shook the Silver Guardians hands.

"Wesley Collins Red Time Force Ranger, this is Eric Meyers the Quantum Ranger. Carter said, introducing the Time Force to the Red Turbo.

"And that's Andros." TJ said, gesturing to the guy walking up from outside the hangar.

"Glad you could join us all the way from Turtle Cove." Andros said, reguarding the new guy.

"You guys are all red rangers too?" Cole asked, like a fanboy. "What's going on here?" Cole asked.

"We were all assembled by a veteran ranger, ourleader for this mission." Andros explained.

"Leader?" Cole asked.

Tommy walked around the corner into the hangar, he didn't walk too briskly... he felt like a dramatic entrance would ease the tension.

"Who's that?" Cole asked TJ.

"That's Tommy." TJ chuckled.. "The Red Zeo Power Ranger... he's a legend."

Thank you guys for coming on such short notice." Tommy said, as he reached the group of 6 reds.

"So what's going on? The call sounded urgent." Wes asked.

"I was hoping this day would never come." Tommy began, "Andros has recently tracked down the remains of the Evil Machine Empire."

"But I thought the Zeo rangers destroyed them years ago?" TJ interrupted.

"We destroyed their leaders, but some of their Generals have managed to survive... The've been in hiding all these years, they finally regrouped their forces and are amassing on the moon... preparing to invade Earth." Tommy finished.

"The moon?" Cole asked... stepping forward nervously. "So, how are we supposed to get there to stop them?"

Andros cut in, "In this, I present the Astro-Megaship Mark 2... fresh off the construction yards of Keo 35, the fastest spaceship in the galaxy." Andros said proudly.

"Guys, this is going to be a very dangerous mission... but I can't force you to go... this is a decision you have to make on your own." Tommy explained.

Cole stepped forward, not as nervous as last time, "I don't know much about... spaceships... or this Machine Empire... but I will go whereever I must.. to protect the Earth." Cole said, not even quivering once.

"Same goes for us." Wes said, looking at Eric.

"Count me in." Carter added.

"Its not even a question." TJ finished.

"Then its settled." Andros declared.

"Let's do it." Tommy said, smiling and walking towards the ship.

The group followed until Andros stopped them.

"Wait... wasn't there another Red Ranger here on Earth?" Andros asked.

It hit Tommy in the gut, but he couldn't let these guys see that... it wasn't everyday a Red Ranger looked to someone else for leadership, and if he was going to lead the leaders he had to look the part.

"I was hoping he'd show up." Tommy said, recalling the conversation he had had with Jason mere hours ago. "But I guess he couldn't make it... we'll have to go on without him." Tommy said, not having the heart to explain why Jason wasn't with them leading the charge as the original Red Ranger.

The sound of a motorcycle echoed through the hangar, "Guys!" Cole said, getting excited and running outside.

The other rangers followed him.

The figure on the motorcycle was wearing jeans, a leather jacket, and a biker's helmet.

Tommy looked at the figure quizzically... he hadn't seen a motorcycle in Jason's open garage when he left... and he didn't see Jason pull up in one. But then again he hadn't seen him pull up in anything... but he did have a vague memory of a black Saturn in front of the house next door... which is what Tommy had assumed was Jason's car... and aside from Jason, Leo, Aurico, and Rocky were the only ones who actually wore red left... and Rocky had just been in a car accident, while leo and Aurico were on alien worlds right now... so Tommy had no idea who it was.

The figure pulled up next to the team of Reds and turned around to take off his helmet, turning his head and giving them a fake cocky smile.

"Jason." Tommy said, smiling.

"You guys weren't gonna do this without me, were you?" Jason asked.

Jason set his helmet down on the bike and walked up to the first one in line.

"You must be the new guy." Jason said, giving him a once over.

"Hi, I'm Cole." Cole extended his hand.

"That's good." Jason said, patting his arm and walking up the line, "I recognize... uh... some of you guys..." He reached Tommy last. "Some, more than others."

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd show up at all." Tommy stated.

"You didn't think I'd let you do this without the original red ranger did ya?" Jason asked, shaking Tommy's hand.

...

Deep in the outer reaches of outer space, was a man wearing a simple jean jacket and red shirt who walked up to a rock structure that held 5 blades.

The man reached for the middle one and pulled it from the rocks binding crevice, pulling it away and allowing it to cross his chest...

The reds were finally assembled.


	3. The Meetings Before the War

On the moon, 5 Generals of the Old Machine Empire gathered in front of an army of Kogs... their goal was to destroy Earth so they could have their revenge on the Rangers of Zeo.

"Ever since the Power Rangers destroyed the Machine Empire, we have been forced to wander the stars in hiding!" Vinjix began.

"That's right!" Another general chimed in.

"But no more!"

The kogs began to cheer, then silencing so that General Vinjiox could continue his speech.

"With this, the greatest Zord ever built... we will be able to rebuild the Machine Empire and" have revenge on those who destroyed our illustrious leader... King Mondo!" The Kogs cheered in agreement... with the full abilities of the zord... even the Zeo Rangers wouldn't be able to stop the Machine Empire's reconstruction... especially not once they destroyed the Earth.

The meeting dissipated and the Generals gathered,

"General Vinjix. We have received intelligence that the Green and Yellow Zeo ranger are in, what the Humans call, the Bahamas... while Zeo 1 Pink is in a small city in a place they call Indiana... leaving the Blue Zeo and Red Zeo, the Blue Zeo was confirmed to be out of commision by our troops."

"That leaves one Zeo standing." Vinjix argued.

"Negative sir, he just made contact with Mirinoi, a planet far from this galaxy... practically lost to the humans... He is not in any shape to do battle, even if that spy was his after all." The Green General explained.

"Good, we must move quickly. Before the Power Rangers attempt any interference." Vinjix ordered.

Vinjix knew that they couldn't stop this Zord... there was only one zord anywhere near as strong as Serpenterra, and it was hidden deep in the seas of Earth.

...

Jason sat alone in his quarters, he just wanted a bit of time to himself before the meeting started... he wanted to think.

He pulled his wallet out and began looking at the various pictures, Kim and him on their first date, Kim and his first dance, , Kim and him at the beach... and so many others... only a few didn't have Kim... one was of Trini, one had Zack, one was Billy, one was the entire original team (excluding Tommy) for some reason,Jason could never get a Tommy photo wallet-sized.

He pulled out a receipt he had recieved when he purchased the ring... it was an expensive ring... it had taken him over a year to buy it... but it would be worth it when he saw her face... when they could finally get married.. and by then they'd finally be able to put the Power behind him... he had One Last Stand left... One Last Sacrifice.. just One Last Time.

He didn't want to give up the power when he did all those years ago... but Trini and Zach really needed him at the Peace Conference... he had been thrilled when he had returned to Angel Grove and got an express invitation to become the Gold Ranger... it was like a dream come true. But he had a hard time being on the same team as Tommy because he had been that other guy Kimberly had mentioned in her Dear John letter... he didn't know it at first... not until closer to the end of Zeo when Kim asked him to come back to Florida... but by then he had had a new girlfriend and it was all causing chaos in his head... later Trey explained that that's the real reason he couldn't hold the Gold Ranger's powers any longer... he was as conflicted as a Triforian.

He remembered the first day he became a ranger... he had been the only one who actually wanted to be a hero... to save the world.. maybe that's why he had assued the mantle of leader... he hadn't asked for it... but the power chose him to lead... so he did.

Until Tommy became the White Ranger... Jason had explained that if he was chosen for the Peace Conference that he'd have to give up the power to Zordon... in thought that Zach or Trini would take his place... but when Zordon chose Tommy... well he was surprised, but pleased nonetheless that the team would have a good leader to lead them through their coming battles.

When he returned for Zeo, Zordon explained that he had had a premonition about Jason, Trini, and Zach leaving for the Peace Conference... and that he had also sensed Jason's story wasn't done yet... maybe that's why he wanted to be back so much... because he knew there was more to it.

Tommy knocked on his door.

"Jason? We're ready." Jason came out and walked with Tommy to the conference room.

Andros walked in a second after he sat down, "I contacted Leo on Mirinoi, and Aurico on Aquitar, they'll be here as soon as they can." Andros said, moving around the room.

"Good." Tommy replied.

"Its all ready Tommy." Alpha said.

"All right let's get started." Tommy said, clicking a button on his handheld remote. "Several years ago the Machine Empire emerged from deep space and tried to invade Earth, myself and the other Zeo Rangers succeeded in stopping the invasion by destroying their leader King Mondo, and most of the empire with him..." He clicked another button. "But now, the last surviving members of the Machine Empire have regrouped under the command of General Vinjix." Tommy explained. "They are gathering here, on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon."

"It looks like they're digging something there." Eric pointed out.

"What would they want on the moon?" Wes asked.

"Serpenterra." Jason said coldly, absolutely 100% positive that they were looking for Lord Zedd's Death Zord.

"Years ago when Lord Zedd was defeated, his personal zord remained hidden on the surface of the moon."

"But I've spent the last few years trailing General Vinjix, just recently he discovered the secret location of Serpenterra." Andros added.

"If the Machine Empire gets their hands on Serpenterra... they're gonna have more than enough power to destroy Earth." Jason added, a hint of worry in his voice.

"We have to stop them here.." Cole decided, "on the moon... we're the only chance Earth has."

"Now you know why we recruited only the best of the best..." Tommy said, nodding to Jason to give him credit for the idea.

"If Serpenterra is so strong, why didn't you guys destroy it when Zedd was defeated?" TJ asked.

Tommy and Jason looked at each other... they had strong memories of Serpenterra... and they were not memories for your health.

"We never could destroy it... it always had too much dark energy to come close enough to hit it with anything..." Andros explained. "It had so much armor and personal weaponry that even the most advanced Megazord on Earth wouldn't be able to destroy it with its weaponry..."

"What about one from the year 3000? Wes asked, implying that they contact the future Time Force rangers.

"My Q Rex is from there, I could call it and we could get it out here." Eric suggested.

"How?" Jason asked. "Q Rex doesn't fly, and if the year 3000 thought we needed their help they would have contacted us." Jason explained. "They wouldn't have waited for the SOS."

"That's not how the future works Jason." Wes explained. "They're not allowed to help in our time..."

"Then I don't see how they could get it out here anyway." Carter chimed. "There's no point in arguing about it... we'll just have to stop them from getting on Serpenterra... simple as that."

One by one the team left the room, until only Jason remained, he was rewatching the last encounter he had had with Serpenterra... that zord still gave him nightmares.

He looked down at his belt, pulling his morpher out... maybe the Q Rex couldn't fly... but there was a zord that could.

He pulled the T-Rex power coin from the slot, he flipped it over and saw a trace of green outlining another ancient reptile... possibly the only one that could stop the Machine Empire and stop Serpenterra for good.


	4. The Unmorphed Fight

**As you may have deduced, the Dragonzord has a role to play in the finale. There was a review questioning my confidence in Dragonzord's power, but there's a piece of it this reader is missing which is why the story continues unaffected. This story follows the youtube video by EstelKenobi, (Forever Red Abandoned Ending) and will follow it to fruition. Its the how that matters... and the why... what happens? That's the story... it was a trailer... Me? I'm writing the movie. (I realize that some lines are Kim's or Tommy's in the trailers, but they had to come from somewhere, and I like to believe that Jason passed it to them.)**

**So thank you for your support and reviews, enjoy:**

* * *

The red rangers were not far from the moon at all, Alpha 5 had estimated a 12 minute lapse from the moment of his calculations, and the moment they'd land on the moon.

Jason was still sitting in the conference room, twirling the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin in his fingers.

Tommy came in not long after Alpha had informed him of their soon arrival.

"Its weird to be back isn't it?" Tommy asked, sitting down in the far chair.

"I never thought I would be." Jason admitted. "But part of me always wanted to come back..." Jason added.

"Hey, thanks man... for coming I mean... I just don't think we could have done this without you." Tommy said.

"Its not me you should be thanking Tommy... thank Kim... she's the one who didn't kill me when I walked out the door."

The 2 rangers laughed mildly but it was short-lived.

"So what's your plan B?" Jason asked.

"Plan B?" Tommy questioned.

"In case Vinjix boards Serpenterra... what are we gonna do if we can't stop him from boarding?" Jason asked.

"I don't know Jason... we barely beat Serpenterra in the old days... and even then we never really beat it..." Tommy admitted, shamefully.

"If this Serpenterra has half the power the old one did... we're gonna need some serious firepower to take it down." Jason mused.

"Yeah... But the problem is is that Serpenterra is a mix of dark magic, evil, and technology... its a lethal mix."

"I doubt even Cole's megazord could take it down." Jason admitted.

"Probably not..." Tommy stopped, before adding, "But hey we'll figure it out... we always do." Tommy said, trying to reassure his best friend.

"Its not me you should be reassuring Tommy... I know Serpenterra, I've fought Serpenterra... its the others that don't know what to expect." Jason said, looking at the door as if he was waiting for one of the other reds to enter the room. After a few moments of silence, Jason broke it, "Its weird... when I became red ranger... everything was on me... there was no previous rangers... no Ninjor... no team of red... it was just me.. and it was my job to help my friends survive."

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you..." Tommy sympathized.

"I mean, I guess I could handle it well enough to lead the rangers... but part of me looks back and wonders, could I even try and do it again?" Jason pondered.

"Well, at least this time around, you're not alone." Tommy suggested.

"Yeah... and its comfort to know that I'm part of some kind of tradition... and I'm glad to know that I'm part of a family that's bigger than myself... And I'm thankful that there are a long line of people, like me, who have done their best to protect the innocent." Jason said, smiling at Tommy.

"You know I got to admit Jason... I keep wondering if I'm walking us into a death trap... I mean... all these times we've gone up against the odds and we beat them... we were masks, play hero... and no one ever gets..."

Jason cut him off, "When things out of our control happen, people die... but if you let it get to you, everyone will die. And if someone does... well someone has to do it."

"One day... I wish we could just end this completely... no more rangers, no more Kogs, no more Serpenterra..." Tommy wondered aloud.

"Just have to keep trying I guess." Jason said as the other reds filed in... the Megaship was about to land.

...

"General Vinjix, installation of the Neo-Plutonium reactor aboard Serpenterra is complete."

"Well done," Vinjix turned to look at the memorial statue, "Finally, we will be able to avenge your untimely destruction King Mondo."

A nearby door blew, taking the generals attention away from Serpenterra, "What?" Vinjix demanded.

In came running the team of Red rangers.

As per tradition, Jason started the clever battle of quips; "You know if you miss King Mondo that much..." He discarded his jacket to the floor nearby, "I promise we can help you join him."

"We're not gonna let you bring back Serpenterra!" Cole said, in a very cliche heroic type of way.

The kogs ran to add to the generals numbers, now the reds were outnumbered... but the kogs were clearly outmatched.

"Try and stop us!" Vinjix dared the rangers.

"Let's do it." Tommy exclaimed.

The resulting hyas gave signal that the reds were ready...

"Kogs to battle.'' Vinjix ordered.

Rather than do the smart thing and board Serpenterra, Vinjix and the others enjoyed the fight...

_They must not have their powers. Vinjix mused, otherwise they would have morphed right away and taken them down sooner, Vinjix reasoned._

**T**J delt a quick belt blow, then adjusted to block a flying kick, then readjusting again to kick away the oncoming Kog he had just punched.

TJ bent away from the 2 he had been fighting, engrossing himself with another 2, which in turn he flipped in one clean stroke, thereby deactivating his set of kogs.

Simultaneously, the other rangers fought their own battles...

**Tommy** was pushed into a kog, who in turn tried to take his jacket... because they're robots... Tommy ducked out, kicking it in the face, and recontinuing battle with another group of 5 kogs.

With ease the veteran ranger dispatched the kogs, freeing him to have bigger fish to fry.

**Jason** fought with speed and ferocity... he knew if he wasted time that he'd be too late, so he quickly blocked one blow, delt one of his own, and kicked away the kog. Then he grabbed 2 other kogs, tornado kicking them, taking them down with ease... he also did a plit kick in the air to dispatch the kogs that had been trying to flank him...

_Still got it._

**Eric** ducked under a bar swing, catching another iron and flipping the kog responsible. Seeing that the kogs were begining to overwhelm him, he bouight space by kicking around him in one smooth fashion and landing on a nearby desk for support. He would have drawn his weapon, but he hadn't cleaned the chamber in more days than he wanted to admit, he had been so focused on Taylor... he means the Quantum Defender, he had forgotten to clean his regulation weapon... and Tommy made it a clear point not to morph until the entire team was there... to do so early might scare the generals into Serpenterra before they could be destroyed.

Eric used a quick kick to disarm 3 kogs, spinning off the desk and kicking it forward... knocking the kogs down for the count.

**Andros**, having surperior acrobatic training on Keo 35, used it to his advantage to do a triple backwards cartwheel (I'm not into aerobics, dont judge me) before taking the fight to them.

But before he could do that he dodged 2 jabbing maneuvers, but then he attacked with a single kick away... adding a grip to a nearby bar over the chasm below, he kicked off the ground, kicked away a distant kog, and smashed into another group of kogs.

Using more aerobics, he side-flipped over one kog, beginning to dodge attacks from another, before one came from above... who was then taken by the metal bar, and thrown into the 50 foot chasm.

**Carter**, had less training in hand-to-hand combat, so he resorted to his regulation firearm to destroy the kogs he combated.

He fired one, two, three shots, three hits.

He kicked away one bar, shooting the kog quickly in the back... before turning around and realizing that 3 more were on the way... he made a wucik sideways diving motion to dodge their personal lasers, and letting off 3 rounds, swaring each of them in a position to destroy each kog it met.

**Wes **won himself a crow bar, and began using it as a sword to combat his set of kogs... he discharged the most of them with ease, even winning a spare in the process... against the kast kog in the area, he grabbed the bar it was using between his own and kicked him away...

**Cole **grabbed a kog, and sideflipped it, inadvertantly flipping himself, but no harm was done as he landed on his feet. Cole dealt 3 punches to a new opponent, and added a kcik against a different adversary...

Seeing that the kogs were failing, Vinjix called to his comrades, "Generals... let us board Serpenterra."


	5. Fighting the Generals&Uniting the Power

**This is the episode where things really drift from the episode and into my own words. Its the start of the finale but there's still more story even after the battle so stay tuned!**

* * *

"No." Cole muttered to himself, running after the Generals, "Stop!"

"You fool!" Vinjix yelled, pointing his wrist laser and firing, missing Cole narrowly.

Cole fell backward, "You will be the first to feel our wrath." Vinjix decided.

The Generals began walking forward slowly when out of outer space came several red laser blasts that struck the generals in rapid succession.

Out of the air came the Galaxy and Alien ranger, who slowed to scoop up Cole.

"Hop on!"

"Gotcha!"

"Hang on." Leo warned.

"Cole hold on!" Leo warned again, pulling a 180.

The alien ranger turned his head, "Are you okay?"

"Great." Cole said, smiling at the sight of the last 2 members of the red ranger team.

Leo jumped out of his seat, "Let's go!" They all jumped and landed safely.

"Thank you rangers." Cole said, shaking their hands.

The other rangers quickly followed Cole and found him to be in company with the last 2 red rangers they had recruited.

"Leo, Aurico, you'e just in time!" Andros exclaimed.

The 2 ranger demorphed.

"Andros, we got here as sooon as we could." Leo explained.

"You're here now, that's whats important." Tommy said, shaking Leo's hand.

"Rangers!" Vinjix yelled angrily. Then he noticed the 2 new companions. "What? 10 red rangers!"

"Well... what are we waiting for?" Jason asked, looking down the line to the other rangers.

"Let's do it guys!" Tommy agreed.

"Its morphing time!" Jason yelled, "Tyrannosaurus...Mighty Morphing Power Ranger!

"Its morphing time." Aurico followed, "Red Aquitar ranger power... Mighty Morphing Alien Ranger."

"Its morphing time!" Tommy continued, "Zeo ranger 5 red... Red Zeo Ranger.

"Shift into Turbo..." TJ added, "Red Lightning Turbo Power... Red Turbo ranger!"

"Let's Rocket!" Andros said, "Red Space ranger.

"Go galactic!" Leo yelled. "Lost Galaxy Ranger!"

"Lightspeed Rescue," Carter spoke, "Red Lightspeed Ranger!"

"Time for... Time Force!" Wes enunciated. "Time force!"

"Quantum power!" Eric followed suit, "Quantum ranger."

"Wild Access." Cole roared. "Red Wild Force Ranger."

"Red rangers unite!" The reds yelled in unison.

"Come on!" Vinjix dared the red rangers.

"All right guys, we're here to save the Earth, let's take them down! hyah!" Cole said, eyeing General Vinjix.

"I'm with you Rook." Jason said from the line.

Jaosn and Cole began dueling Vinjix while the other rangers paired off to deal with the remaining generals.

Cole kicked high, Jason kicked low... they successfully got Vinjix down, but it didn't last long. He recovered and met Cole in the air with a flying kick, sending the Wild Force ranger backward.

Cole ran at him againand began more specific hand to hand combat.

It didn't take long for Cole to receive a punch in the gut and be thrown backwards far.

Cole watched Vinjix run forward to meet him again, Cole shot a punch but was deflected by a kick and met with another kick in the back.

Now is when Jason decided was ideal, he sprung from his hiding place with a backflip turned double kick into Vinjix.

"Not bad kid!" Jason said. "Hand back rookie, let me show you how it's done!"

Jason, having surperior martial arts abilities, ran forward and met Vinjix as an equal, successfully landing several painful blows to the General, to finalize his solo attack he raised Vinjix in the air, jumping after him and kicked him sending him flying the other direction.

Jason landed, realizing he had another trick up his sleeve, jumped again for a spinning flying kick.

"Go for it newbie!" Jason yelled to the younger ranger.

"Morphenomenal!" Cole yelled, running to catch up.

...

Wes began a sword fight with his chono-sabers and the green general, who attempted to use his blaster in a cross. Wes tried to kick him off balance but no luck was to be had.

Tommy jumped in with a back kick and several succeeding punches, half of which were deflected by the green general.

The general fired again, missing Tommy thanks to a last second dodge, the general waivered slightly... the point where Tommy increased the speed and ferocity in his attacks to take down the general.

Wes got in a few good shots with his chrono-sabers, while Tommy continued his Zeo kicks in between saber strikes.

Wes tripped the general cquickly, at which time Tommy ran forward and went down to kick the general away.

"Time strike!" Wes yelled, striking the general.

The general attempted to get up, but the Zeo wasn't done. "Zeo 5 power kick!" He jumped into the air and drilled his kick into the general.

"You're time's up!" Wes said, drawing his V-Weapon.

He fired and the green general was thrown even farther backward.

"Zeo flying power kick!" Tommy ran forward and jumped, kicking the general so hard he flew into a crater wall and was completely destroyed.

...

Aurico and Eric teamed up to face the yellow female general, they bnack flipped part way down into another crater when the general open fired several shots from her personal blaster.

The general attempted to strike the Alien Ranger, but missed due to Aurico's incredible speed. "Over here!" Aurico called sitting calmly on a rock.

The yellow general moved to attack again. Aurico noticed Eric taking aim.

"Haha missed me." Aurico teased sprinitng away behind the general.

Eric fired a shot, hitting the general squarely, but the general had taken aim as welll pulling it not a split second later, causing her laser blast to destroy the rocks that were holding enormous boulders on top of the crater wall.

Eric and Aurico keenly and quickly dodged the boulders with several backflips and sideflips. Aurcio stopped at the foot of the crater, holding his sword firmly.

Eric jumped over and behind him, taking careful aim.

"Quantum defender!"

With an increase to the power the general was defeated.

...

Leo and TJ had teamed up with their swords, entering combat with the red general. They fought quickly and with precision.

TJ met the general in combat, Leo would flank to the side and get in a quick strike.

Let's do it!" TJ yelled to his partner.

"Right!" Leo agreed, Leo met their opponent's blade first, followed by TJ, the 2 went in for a simultaneous jab... but the general was highly skilled in sword combat, and stopped them both in one fluent defensive tactic.

Leo drew his dagger and began fighting one on one, while TJ recovered from the attack trying to analyze the fight.

The general jumped 50 feet in the air thanks to the lower gravity and prepared to strike the galaxy ranger.

The general blasted a laser from his blaster, but Leo jumped up nonetheless out of the smoke and struck the general.

Before the general could fall completely, TJ yeleld, "My turn! Turbo Lightning Sword!"

He struck her repeatedly twice and jumped away as she exploded behind him.

...

Carter and Andros were in a firefight with the blue general.

"You're finished." The general scolded, firing several lasers towards the Lightspeed and Space rangers.

Carter and Andros jumped towards each other, sending a laser blast his way.

They took cover behind the rocks.

"You ready?" Carter asked.

"Ready, let's do it!" Andros yelled.

They ran out and began firing.

Shot, shot, dodge, shot, shot, shot, dodge, dodge, shot, shot.

Finally the 2 increased the power to their blasters and fired in one long continuous blast.

Needless to say, the general was destroyed quickly.

...

Cole frontflipped forward, striking the ground to cause a collateral effect that struck Vinjix with ease.

"Still number 1!" Jason yelled.

"Well.." Vinjix looked backwards. "I still have Serpenterra."

"No!" Cole yelled, the 2 running to try and stop him.

Vinjix turned, increasing the power to his laser and firing, disorienting the rangers.

Vinjix boarded quickly.

"Serpenterra lives again." Vinjix grunted getting into the pilot seat "Now no one is safe from the wrath of the machine empire."

"Oh no its taking off!" Cole exclaimed.

"Aw man, that is one ugly sword!" Tommy stated.

"He's heading for Earth!"

"He's getting away!"

"We have to get back to the megaship, come on." Jason decided.

"There isn't time, we have to take out Serpenterra before it leaves the moon!" Carter explained.

Jason knew he was right... the Megaship wouldn't be strong enough to defeat Serpenterra... he just really didn't want to do this.

"We need to keep Serpenterra for as long as possible!" Jason told the other rangers.

"Why?" Tommy demanded.

"Its the only way... Trust me." Jason told him.

"I've got something that could distract him."

"Go for it Cole!" Jason ordered.

"Wild force rider."

"Just distract him!" Jason called.

Jason pulled out his power coin and held it firmly in his hand.

"I call upon the power of all of us combined." Jason recited, thinking back to the time they used their powers to restore Zordon.

"Zeo." Tommy yelled.

"Turbo"

"Space"

"Galaxy"

"Lightspeed."

"Time Force."

"Quantum."

"Alien."

"Mighty Moprhing Power ranger." Jason yelled.

The coin lit up green and returned the defender vest to Jason.

He held in his hand, the dragon flute... the lone controlelr of the Dragon Zord.

He held it to his mouth and played it as loudly as he could... maybe he was in outerspace... but this was the world of Power Rangers... anything was possible.

"Dragonzord I call you back from your long sleep," Jason yelled to no one in particular. "Come to me now and fulfillour destiny."

He wasn't even sure where the words were coming from, but he could feel the DragonZord rising from its waves...

"Jason, there's no way the Dragonzord will have enough power to destroy Serpenterra." Andros told him.

"Not alone." Jason said looking at something coming from the Earth very fast.

...

Cole didn't know why Jason needed a distraction.. but somehow he felt he had to say something...

"Wild force" he yelled,

He dodged a blast from Serpenterra barely, the beam had nearly skimmed him... he tried to lurk near the tail and get it to shoot itself but Vinjix wasn't the dullest machine in the empire.

Cole knew that if he kept playing hidesies Vinjix would turn and attack the other reds... and if he killed even one of them... Cole would never forgive himself. So he throttled up, and drove out into the front, letting Serpenterra fire beam after beam...

After mere minutes of cat and mouse a dark shaped figure flew over the ranger and Serpenterra.


	6. The Final Battle: Lot 828

**I know that during this episode, the abilities of Dragonzord are different than they are in the series. But there's a simple way I see it: The green ranger power, coupled with Jason's red ranger power all ready doubles the power. But what about the zord in itself? The magic that is still there because of Rita? That's what gives Dragonzord the ability to partake in this final battle.**

* * *

Dragonzord flew over Jason and he jumped up, landing inside the cockpit.

"All right, let's do this." Jason said, putting the dragonflute to his mouth.

Cole rode around wildly, dodging every attack possible. One hit too close to home and damaged the right side of the Rider. Cole had to be sure to stay left and make sure that's where his turns went because if they didn't he'd be chopped lion.

An explosion over Serpenterra's head occured, causing both the mighty zord and the Wild Force ranger to turn their head to watch the age-old Dragonzord roar to life and fire missile after missile into the mightier zord's body.

"Hang back rookie." Jason said over the universal communicator.

"I can't just leave you here." Cole replied, narrowly avoiding another blast from Serpenterra.

"Cole that is an order!" Jason yelled in his deep leader voice. "You've got to pull back and save the world."

Jason unleashed another volley of missiles into Serpenterra's body.

"But, you could die."

"A hero only dies when no one continues his legacy... a true hero lives forever."

"I can't do it." Cole said, "I'll bait it out and you fire a volley into its mouth maybe we could..."

"Cole! This isn't about a distraction, its about space. I need him focused on Dragonzord, its the only thing we've got that uses the same energy as Serpenterra... dark magic." Jason explained quickly, forcing Dragonzord to dodge a beam.

"But..."

"I'm sorry Cole... there's no other way." Jason played the flute lightly, a soft and unusual tune that went straight into the core of Dragonzord.

From the chest came a small focused Ionic bea, the resulting beam collided with the Wild Force Rider shutting it down, causing it to safely drift back to the moon's surface.

"No!" Cole said, jumping off the rider and running to the combating zords... even though they were hundreds of feet off the moon and he was on foot. The other rangers soon joined him.

"What is he doing up there?" Tommy demanded.

BUt Cole had no heart to say it, he had no desire to hear it, and most of all: he didn't want to hear himself say it.

The other rangers were left to watch... after realizing that none of their weapons would be strong enough to do more than annoy Serpenterra they were forced to watch in horror the final battle between the Dragonzord and Serpenterra.

Jason used Dragonzord's incredibly strong teeth to bite down onto Serpenterra's tail, greatly damaging the farthest point from the head.

Vinjix responded with a carefully aimed and immense laser beam, resulting in the wires of Dragonzord becoming loose and losing great bits of metal to outerspace. The chest was opened now and Dragonzord was spinning out of control, Vinjix carefully aimed again and fired another blast, this one directed at the head.

Had Jason moved anything less than fast he would have been destroyed along with Dragonzord, but in the last second he whipped up the tail of dragon zord and forced it to withstand the brunt of the beam.

The tail was damaged beyond repair at this point, but he could still use the drill to an extent probably. He focused the dragonzord forward, tryng to get closer into the body, Serpenterra blasted again, but was met by a volley of missiles effectively deflecting the beam. Dragonzord took a bite into Serpenterra's upper body and held on tight... this was the hard part.

Jason set it for 7:30. If he could get in far enough he'd be able to destroy Vinjix and finish this without a casualty... if not he wouldn't die for nothing.

Jason jumped out of the mouth and into the body.. the head wasn't far at all, it looked larger on the outside.

Jason called his Power-Sword and almost began to run to the head.

Almost.

He thought of another possibility and drew his blaster...

...

Vinjix was fumbling at the controls trying to focus on Dragonzord who was still latched on to Serpenterra.

"Its over Vinjix." Jason said, pointing the sword to the general.

"While I survive the Machine Empire lives on."

"The I guess you have to be defeated."

"Give it your best shot." Vinjix extended his arm and blasted Jason.

Jason responded with a careful block that reflected the laser back to Vinjix.

Vinjix drew his own blade, he had never been a fan of sword combat, but he was adept nonetheless.

They crossed swords briefly, Vinjix struck Jason with an expert stroke and caused the morpher to falter... the green defender vest disappeared in a haze of green... his own power suit flashed red and back to his civilian form briefly.

"You will be destroyed." Vinjix yelled, swinging again.

Jason met his blade with a cross... Jason was weakening... with the green power boost depleted keeping the dragonzord connected to Serpenterra was just shy of a battle of mind.

He had made sure that Dragonzord would stay connected, but Dragonzord was trying to return to its icy waters, it wanted to go home.

More than anything Jason wanted the same... he wanted to go back... to the time before the world was on his shoulders... where all he was was Jason Lee Scott, 3rd degree blackbelt. He wanted to go home.

But his home would be destroyed if he failed, he would doom his son/daughter to a dead world if he didn't succeed.

He found the strength to push Vinjix back farther into the cockpit.

Jason went into a clash of sparks and hit the button he wanted...

"You fool! You'll be destroyed as well."

"Maybe." Jason said, slashing at Vinjix who was struck backward into the hull of Serpenterra.

"It's all over Vinjix." Jason drew his blaster and fired, destroying the former's sword.

Jason holstered his weapon and started to run back to Dragonzord... he still had time.

Vinjix grabbed the red rangers ankle and twisted it Jason fell like a rock and watched Vinjix go past him.

Jason withdrew his blaster one last time and limped on, trying to follow as best he could.

Vinjix fired at Jason, who was in no fit state to dodge, and completely demorphed... the morpher sputtered for a second like it was trying to hold on to the power but the Mighty Morphing Red Power Morpher was finally dead.

Jason still held the blaster though, with the last bit of his concentration he kept it in the material world instead of letting it be absorbed into the Morphing Grid as it normally would be.

Jason fired repeated blasts, trying to destroy Vinjix, but Vinjix was much stronger than the average machine and withheld all attacks... Vinjix finally reached the Dragonzord bite and noticed the problem.

"You melted the metal! Now there is no escape! Was that part of your plan?" Vinjix demanded, incredibly angry that he had failed King Mondo and the Machine Empire.

"It was always the plan." Jason said. The 2 didn't bother fighting any more. Vinjix would have just killed Jason and then been killed himself.

Jason spoke into the communicator he had on his wrist... on the off chance Tommy was listening to his...

"Rangers, this is Jason. Serpenterra has been neutralized... Tommy if you hear this... find a receipt in my quarters and go to that location. Find the package, and deliver it. May the power ptoect you all."

The next thing he knew he was engulfed in flames, sentenced to oblivion.

...

The other rangers watched in horror as Serpenterra sparked more and more... until finally it must have caught something and exploded.

"NO! Jason!"

Their yells were so awful that they couldn't distinguish who said what... even if they were the ones that said it.

Tommy fell to his knees, the Zeonizers deactivating on their own.

"He was my best friend..." Tommy muttered. "He trusted me... and I failed him."

"I should have destroyed Serpenterra when I had the chance." Cole scolded himself.

"If we had just moved faster." Carter suggested, half-heartedly.

Eric separated himself from the others... he had had mixed feelings about Jason. On one hand he was an incredible fighter, plus Eric knew that the cocky attitude was for show... he didn't want the others to know some secret. But Eric knew there was something... because he had taught himself that face a long time ago... confidence over fear. On the other hand, if he was so good... why couldn't he have beaten Vinjix before boarding Serpenterra?

Cole demorphed as well, crying to himself putting his head down.

He remembered what Jason had said, something that he had always known deep down... somehow

_A true hero lives forever in those who continue their legacy._

Carter tried to keep his face straight, but he cringed at the thoughts circulating through his mind.

The other reds all felt similar pains, eventually Alpha flew the Megaship over to them and the group boarded for them to return home.

"Tommy." Alpha said to the veteran ranger. "Jason left you a message on the comlink before Dragonzord self-destructed..."

That was it... Jason had killed himself after all... for the mission.

Tommy thanked Alpha without speaking and clicked the button to play the message.

"Its unusually disconnected..."

Tommy raised his hand for silence.

"Serpenterra...neutralized..." Static. "Tommy... receipt... quarters... deliver... May the power protect you."

The last piece of Jason left was in a recorded message.

Tommy immediately went to his quarters to find the receipt...he found it on the bed and picked it up, trying to read the writing.

_Andrew's Car Garage, Los Angeles, lot 828, 1993 Hart Road_

Beneath was a message,

_Tommy, I had to do what I had to do. I'm sorry._

Tommy practically collapsed onto the bed... Jason's death took everything out of him... for so long this had been kid stuff... not for kids but the ideals were kid-friendly... kick butt, fight bad guys, and no one ever gets killed...

He heard a jingle under the pillow.

Tommy reached under the pillow and found a set of keys.

One was obviously for Jason's motorcycle, the other was a house key, the last one was what was in lot 828...

* * *

**I know I know. Its a sad ending. But if you had watched the video you would have known this was gonna happen. If you haven't noticed I specifically made it lot 828 because its the day that Power Rangers came to TV. (August 28th) and the address is the year (1993)**

**This chapter has been rewritten because of computer error, otherwise it would've been up 2 days ago... sorry about that.**


	7. May The Power Protect Him

**Some of the pieces of these final chapters were influenced by various funerals I had seen on TV or in the movies so credit is due there... but I did alter the words. Thank you to EstelKenobi for the awesome youtube video. Please don't forget about me just because of the story... it was always endgame... The cost of victory was high, I know... but he chose a hero's end. The truest of all rangers.**

* * *

The red rangers gathered, with the exception of the fallen and Tommy.

They sat in silence, Andros' hand buried in his face, Aurico never even had the heart to demorph...

...

Against Tommy's better judgement he knew he had a call to make... someone who would need a strong shoulder to get through His passing.  
"Hello?" A soft voice asked.

"Kimberly.." His voice was barely a whisper... he could barely bring himself to say it.

"Are you okay...?" After a second a thought dawned on her. "What?"

"I'm sorry..." Tommy's voice broke momentarily. "Jason didn't make it."

Kim almost fell out of her chair... the man she had spent years with... the one that had taught her the importance of truth, justice, and self sacrifice was lost to eternal sleep. The first red ranger was lost to the ages now.

...

Hours after landing Kim and Tommy met up at Angel Grove park and the 2 held each other like a pair of best friends would after a long time away.

"I'm so sorry." Kim said, her heart breaking at the look on Tommy's face.

The 2 barely said a word, instead walked to the old Juice Bar and sat on a bench in the hallway.

After a few moments of silence Kim spoke,

"You can't blame yourself for what happened down there... Jason knew the risks we all did." Tommy's face was awful to look at... it broke her heart even more that he couldn't even push himself to be strong for her... that's how bad he felt. "But that's the job... right?" Kim demanded lightly. "He didn't die for nothing... none of this was for nothing... I believe that... have too."

The 2 sat in silence until Kim's phone beeped... the doctor's office was trying to let her know she had an appointment scheduled in about a half hour for an ultrasound.

"I've got to go." Kim said, getting up. It was all for the better... because she knew that she had to be strong for Tommy... like Jason had told her about acting on who had the greater need... maybe she was in love with Jason... but Tommy blames himself for Kim losing the man she loved... and she couldn't do anything to change that.

"Jason... I don't know..." Tommy said, pulling a shiny object out of his pocket. "I'm gonna take a guess that its for you."

...

Not long passed and the funeral was here. Kim wore pure black... she didn't have the heart to wear pink or even red...

The casket was decorated in pictures of Jason, most of them with Kim right next to him.

In addition to friends, family, and various allies to the power rangers... every ranger in history was at the proceeding. From the Mighty Morphing to the Wild Force... even the Time Force were there paying their respects to the hero who started it all.

Billy stood at the podium alone, he didn't want anyone with him. Jason was like his big brother.. he always watched out for him and did his best to understand Billy... he knew that speaking would be hard... but he knew he had too. Because no matter what it would cost him Jason would still speak on any of the other's behalf.  
"We are gathered here today, bound together in the sorrow and loss of Jason lee Scott." Billy began slowly. "But we all share a never-more important gift that is rarely seen outside of these circumstances. All of us here were privileged, in our small time here, with the chance of living a life that was not only touched, but made possible by the first Red Power Ranger." Billy said, looking at the big picture to his immediate right... it stood at 8 feet by 10 feet... it was the first team... Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Black. The first rangers.

"The Tyrannosarus possessed many extraordinary abilities that he constantly chose to share with all of us and the human race freely. None of his gifts... none of his skills were ever a bit more remarkable than his ability to discern what needed to be done... and his ever unfailing courage in doing it... reguardless of any personal cost. We must all strive to accept his pledge and to pass it along... as an ongoing tribute to Jason Lee Scott, the first red ranger who taught us all... how to be heroes... go now to your rest my friend."

Billy walked off the podium and let the next speaker take up the podium.

"Today... we acknowledge a dreadful loss." The new voice spoke slowly. "Jason Lee Scott was, as we all know. Exceptionally brave, infinitely just and fair minded, and of course his most important quality... a fierce friend." Captain Mitchell hadn't been expecting to speak... but Tommy decided he couldn't do it and Captain Mitchell was of the only ones of the crowd to know Jason outside of the suit (having used Jason to recover the lost Rescue morphers a little under a decade ago, but that's another story) so he was drafted.

"It is for this reason you all have the right to know exactly what happened and how he died..." He waited for the look of everyone in the room... he saw a man in the back wearing red... someone he didn't recognize but was fairly sure that this was Jason's father. "Jason Scott was murdered... by General Vinjix of the Machine Empire... some of the other rangers weren't sure if I should tell you these things... But not to do so is an insult to his legacy."

Captain Mitchell let his eyes glaze over everyone in the room.

"The pain we all feel should always remind us, that no matter where we come from or how and what we speak... in the end our hearts beat together as one and the same. In light of these events, the bonds of friendship any of you have made because he sacrificed himself for you are more important than they ever have... remember this... and Jason will not have died in vain... A true hero lives forever in those who continue their legacy... so you will remember that!" Mitchell raised his voice... not something he did commonly. "And together you and I will celebrate a man who was kind... and honest... brave... true... and a real hero... right to the very end."

The proceedings ended.

Just before the coffin was lowered Kim placed her damaged power coin from so long ago into the empty coffin, kissing it before letting it go... she knew that Captain Mitchell was right... the rangers were constantly growing and evolving... so he would live on perhaps... but today she had to let herself cry or she'd explode.

"I guess this is it..." Kim said, backing up and letting them lower him. Tommy put his hand on her... it had taken all he was to keep his emotions controlled. "I'm not gonna see him again."

As the team of reds gathered around the grave Tommy spoke... the first words he had said since the beginning of the funeral..

"Guys..." The rangers turned. "You're a part of something bigger than yourself... you've become part of a tradition... you're the next in the long line of people who have done their best... to protect the innocent."

One by one the teams disappeared... Cole was the last one... he stood alone aside from Tommy.

"I just wish I had been stronger..." Cole muttered.

"When bad things happen, people die... but someone has to do it." Tommy decided looking up at the sky.

Kim walked up, she and Tommy had carpooled together and Kim wasn't sure if he was ready to leave yet.

"I hope that... one day we finally beat evil... and evil goes away forever but... I don't think it will so..."

"So try again." Kim suggested.

...

Not long passed and Cole was walking up to the grave he had been visiting every day since its impregnation...

"Perhaps you should know peace has come..." Cole said, setting the flowers on the ground.

Jason Lee Scott

1979-2002

The First The Best

May the Power Protect Him

As he looked upon the tomb he could have sworn he saw the fallen hero accepting the first morpher from his menotr, Zordon... and soon after accepting the Gold Power Staff from the Triforian, Trey.  
"You helped me find my destiny... and for that... I can never thank you enough."

Legacy

* * *

**You know the deal, review, fav, and follow if you like it... I know its a sad story but this was endgame since I made the story a few weeks ago... You always knew that he would fall. but like I said... the cost of victory is high.**


End file.
